corset chair

Corset Chair is a lounge seat that explores the relationship between fashion, furniture, and the body. The inspiration came from looking at expressions of personal and cultural identity in fashion through body decoration and alteration. Transforming this idea into object and onto furniture, the chair itself becomes corseted and the body rests upon the rope. The function of the corset is no longer to transform the body, but to support it. By using weaving, knotting, and bustling, an intricate surface is created upon which to rest. The seat only becomes functional when the corset, a single strand of rope, is tightened about the chair. The chair’s materials of plastic, rope, and steel emphasize the disparity between hard and soft, strong and vulnerable. The weaving varies from chair to chair, accentuating the intersection of the handcrafted with the manufactured.